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POLITICS

Bures to be Austria’s speaker of parliament

The Social Democrat's (SPÖ) committee board is due to confirm Infrastructure Minister Doris Bures as the new speaker of the Austrian parliament, as well as the subsequent cabinet reshuffle.

Published: 25 August 2014 11:08 CEST
Bures to be Austria's speaker of parliament
Doris Bures. Photo: APA/HERBERT NEUBAUER

The changes were made following the death of speaker of parliament Barbara Prammer at the beginning of August. Prammer's parliamentary mandate went to a man, which upset the SPÖ's female quota and has angered women within the party. 

Bures will be replaced as minister for infrastructure by Health Minister Alois Stöger. He will be replaced in turn by trade unionist Sabine Oberhauser.

Minister for Women's Affairs, Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek of the SPÖ, said she was not pleased about Prammer's mandate going to trade unionist Walter Schopf. She said she had hoped for a different result.

The SPÖ in parliament is far from its self-imposed female quota of 40 percent.  As of the reshuffle, only 17 of 52 representatives will be female (33 percent).

Bures and the other ministers will be officially sworn in at a special parliamentary meeting on September 2nd.

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POLITICS

Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank replaces ‘misleading’ Russia job ads

Austria's Raiffeisen Bank said on Tuesday that it was replacing job ads that contained 'misleading wording' implying the bank was expanding its operations in Russia.

Published: 17 April 2024 14:52 CEST
Austria's Raiffeisen Bank replaces 'misleading' Russia job ads

The bank has vowed to reduce its business in Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but has so far not sold or spun off its Russian unit.

The Financial Times on Tuesday said it had found dozens of postings for Russia-based jobs, touting its growth plans in the country.

One of the job postings said the bank was “looking for a client manager who will attract clients,” the paper reported.

“The quotes from the job advertisements do not reflect the measures taken by Raiffeisen Bank International to date to reduce its Russian business, nor do they correspond to the further plans for the Russian business,” the bank said in a statement sent to AFP.

It added to be able to sell Raiffeisenbank Russia — the biggest Western bank still in Russia — “job positions that are necessary for functioning banking operations will continue to be filled or refilled”, but they are “not related to business growth”.

“The very few job ads which contained old and misleading wording are/will be replaced.” the bank said.

Raiffeisen Bank International said in its annual report for 2023 that it had made 2.4 billion euros ($.2.6 billion) in net profits. It paid 464 million euros in income tax in Russia.

The group announced in December an agreement with Austrian construction company Strabag, involving Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who is under Western sanctions.

The deal to try to recover assets frozen in Russia before selling or spinning off Raiffeisenbank Russia has drawn the US authorities’ scrutiny.

A senior US Treasury official — in Austria in March to discuss sanctions against Russia — met Raffeisen Bank International officials in Vienna to discuss the bank’s business in Russia.

Last year, a Czech rights group filed a criminal complaint against the bank’s Czech and Austrian units, claiming the bank is financing terrorism with its activities in Russia.

Raiffeisenbank has been in Russia since 1996 and employs more than 9,000 people there.

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